Regulating system



2 sheets-sheet 1 Gttornegs A .r A

Oct. 7, 1941. C, A OTTO REGULATING SYSTEM Filed June 3, 1938 Patented ct. 7, 1941 e UNITED lSTATI-'1S v'PATENT OFFICE azsasss Y aEGULanNGsYsTEM f cari A. om, Milwaukee, wie., mirate to mmson Service Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a oorporatlon of Wisconsin Application .faire s, 193s, serial No. 211,648

a claims. (cl. 23e-sz) invention relates to regulating systems and particularly to regulating systems of the pneumatic type.

In the art of regulation applied to temperature and humidity control, it has been the usual practice, when using a pneumatic system, to operate valve means for controlling the ilow of heat exchanging media by the direct application of `branch line pressure to a pressure or diaphragm motor in order to control it, the branch line pressure, serving as pilot pressure to control a throttling valve, being derived from a main source oi' pressure usually amounting to -approxiy mately fteen pounds per square inch.- f, PI'OPOSed Systems have been divided generally into two types, namely (1) those in which the leak valve throttling means controlled by pilot pressure moves about a ilxed pivot and (2) those in which the leak `valve throttling means moves about a movable or floatingV pivot. The rst type tion, the invention has been described 'as appliedv to two diierent'iormsoi pneumatic apparatus. It is to be understood that the illustrations made are exemplary only and not limiting.

In the drawings:

Figurel is a 'diagrammatic view of a system embodying the present invention, with parts shown in section, and disposed to operate a plurality of damper or pressure motorsoperating on controlling means for a heat exchanging medium; Y

Fig. 2'is a view partially in elevation land partially in section, illustrating an 'application of is preferable because it requires a smaller range of, movement of the parts and hence lends itself to use with a pressure responsive diaphragm which is cheaper, simpler, and more trouble tree than are pistons, Bourdon tubes, bellows, and,`

equivalent means which must be used in a system of type (2) Systems oi' this character previously proposed can be relied upon for prompt and `eilective operation where exact regulation is not required. However, such systems, particularly those of type (2) ,have an inherent tendency to unstable-oper ation, are adversely affected by friction of the moving parts of the apparatus to be controlled, andby forces to which the controlling valve or other controlling means is subject, and require` too Vmuch apparatus. Due to the susceptibility of systems of this character to fluctuations in optheA invention to a modified form of heat vex change medium control;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3 of Eig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a detail of a' portion o i the mechanism shown in both Figs. 1 and 2. v

In Fig. 1- of the drawings, reference character l 5 designates aline connected to a source of uid pressure such as compressed air which, according to usual practice, will have a pressure of approximately fteen pounds per square inch.

This line has a branch 6 supplying liluid to a thermostatic device l which operates on the leak port principle to vary the pressure in branch liney 8. 'I'he instrument 1 may,"for example, be of the constructiony disclosedin the patent-to Otto No. 1,500,260, to which reference may be had for details.-

For the purposes of tl'i'e` present description4 it willbe sufficient to state that the pipe 6 supplies air to a leak' port 9, thelid I l of which iscontrolled `by a thermostatflZ, or other instrument responsive to changes in an atmospheric condi- V tion, to vary the pressure in line l in accordance erating characteristics and to their complexity;

hydraulic means have frequently been used to obtain stability, although such means are inherently less flexible than pneumatic systems. It has been found, however, that by utilization of certain principles herein disclosed, a system operated pneumatically can be arranged Ato have the flexibility and speed of operation characteristic of pneumatic systems and, at the same time, the inherent stability vof hydraulic systems.

Accordingly. the main object ot the present invention is to provide a regulating system of the pneumatic type which oiIers substantially all of the advantages ofboth pneumatic and hydraulic systems with a much simplified structure, and

one which can be adapted directly to pneumatic with changes in temperature, or other quantity, to which the responsive element of instrument 1 is exposed.

As here shown, the valveto be controlled is designated at Il as o! the butterfly type and may form an element of an adjustable louver for controlling the flow of a-heat exchanging medium, this valve being carried on a rotatable shaft I4 mounted in suitable bearings (not shown) and .adapted to be actuated by motors I5 and i6 through lever Il, links Il and Il, and levers 2| and 22."

The motor I5, here shown as of the bellows type, may comprise a casing 23 having an upstandingbracket 24 -forming a pivot support 25 for lever 2|. The casing also` carriesa spring seat 2i supporting a spring 2l which reacts besystems alreadyin use. For purposes of illustratween this seat and an abutment 28 pivotally When pressure fluid is supplied to the interior 10 of bellows 3| and is under suilicient pressure to overcome the bias o! spring 21, the arm 2| is caused to swing about the pivot 23 and thus to move the damper I3 toward closed position. The

bellows motor I3 is of the same construction as 15 the motor I3 and operates concurrently with it in order to provide suillcient power to operate the damper I3. It will be obvious that the motor I3 may operate alone to control the damper I3, in which case the link |9 would be 'discon- 20 nected and the line 33 to motor I3 omitted.

The apparatus so f ar described is characteristic of known types or systems wherein branch line pressure from the thermostat. or the like,

operates directly on a damper motor to control 25 a valve. In the present instance, however, in ord-er to obtain stability oi' operation, there is interposed between the instrument 1 and the damper motor, a pilot mechanism including leak valve throttling means for regulating the pres- 30 sure which is suppliedto the motor. l

As illustrated, the pilqt valve comprises a casing 31 containing a chamber 33 within which is mounted a leak port 39 connected through duct 4|, adjustable pin valve 42, and illter 43, with 35 thev line 3 to which mainline pressure is supplied. Cooperating with the leak port 39 is a plug 44 carried in the lower end of a sleeve 43, this sleeve being connected by a screw 43 and interposed cushion spring 3| to the head 41 on stem 43 40 of plate 49. The plate 49 is held in abutting relation to a flexible diaphragm 3| by a spring '32, held in a spring seat 33 slidably carried on a tubular guide 34 secured to the casing 31. The details of this structure are shown in Fig. 4. 5

The diaphragm 3| is held by ring 33 against a closure member 33 screwed into the top oi the housing 31. and held by locking ring 31. The closure member contains a central port 33 connected to pipe 3, and terminating at its inner '50 end adjacent the diaphragm 3| in a chamber 39, to which pressure iluid is supplied to move the stem 43 downwardly, and to bring the plug 44 into contact with the leak port 39. The pressure in chamber 39 exerts a force which is oP- 55 posed to that of spring 32. The cushion spring 3| prevents injury to the leak port 39 by excess pressure being supplied to the chamber 39. When pressure builds up in chamber 39 to move the plug 44 into contact with leak port 39, the o spring 3| is compressed and limits the force transmitted to the plug 44. However, when the plug is out of contact with the leak port. the spring 3| holds sleeve 43 tightly against the head of screw 43 so that parts 44, 43, 43, 41, 43 65 and 49 move as a unit.

Movement of the plug 44 is correlated with the movement of the valve I3 through lever l32,

This lever has a fixed pivot on casing 31 at 33,

and is operatively connected to lever I1 by a 7o boss 35 which contacts with and reacts against 75 the lower face of stop ring 33 forming a part of abutment 33, and held in adjusted threaded D0- sition on it by means of locking ring 31. Movement ci' the arms of lever 32 carries parts 33, 33,

Y and 31 upwardly against the force of spring 32.

This lever loads the spring 32 variably but is not connected to plug 44. Downward movement o1' the right hand ,end of lever 32 is limited by an adjustable stop fscrew 33 carriedby the casing 31, and arranged to coact with abutment I3 to coordinate the movements of valve I3 with those of plug 44 controlling the leak port 33.

The system so i'ar described is completely operative with the duct 4| connected directly to pipe line 33 of the bellows motors |3'and I3. A

considerable volume oi air must, however, be dis- Y sipated through the single leak port 33. Consequently, it is preferred that, where a plurality of' bellows' motors are vused simultaneously, as illustrated. a relay be interposed between the pilot valve and the motors in order to provide additional vents through which air may be vented from the system to speed up its operation.

Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. l, in which the relay designated 1| is of. the usual pneumatic type having two diaphragms 12 and 13 o! unequal areas with a space between them vented at 14 to atmosphere. The chamber-13 formed between the outermost diaphragm 13 and the cover 13 is connected vthrough port 1.1 with the duct 4|. A hub 13 carried jointly by the two diaphragms and forming a communication 19 lbetween the two diaphragms and the inner chamber 3|, controls the now-oi air from this chamber 3| to the space between the diaphragms. and hence to atmosphere. The end of the hub also acts against a conical admission and exhaust valve 32 of conventional type which is biased by a spring 34 to the right hand position, in which it seats at 33. -The chamber 33 formed adjacent the enlarged portion oithe-valve is connected by duct 33 with the line 3 to which main line pressure is connected.

Thechamber 3| is connected through duct 31 with the pipe line 39. It will be apparent that since the diaphragms 13 and 12 are of dlierent cross sectional areas, the variations in pressure cccurringin chamber 13 resulting from variations in pressure from duct 4| will cause an amplication of the pressure supplied through duct 33 to be made, and supplied through duct 31 to the pipe line 39, and thence to the bellows motors I3 and I3. When the pressure within chamber 15 is low enough to cause hub 13 to move away from the valve 32, pressure from chamber 8| will exhaust rapidly to atmosphere through openings 14, and thus facilitate discharge of air from the bellows of the damper motors, when the damper 12s' being moved to open position by the springs The operation of the complete system shown in Fig. 1 is as follows:

When the temperature or other atmospheric condition ailecting the instrument. 1 is such that no pressure is supplied through branch line 3 to chamber 59 o! the pilot valve, the parts will occupy the positions shown in the drawing in which the valve I3 is in fully opened position, and is held there by the bias of the springs 21 of the motors I5 and I3. The leak port 39 will also be vented because diaphragm 5| occupies its up'- permost position. The chamber 3| will be open to atmosphere through thepassage 19 in hub 13 and openings 14, and hence will afford free communication between the interior of the bellows lloccurs to require 1 change in response toinstrument 1. For the purpose of explanation it will be assumed that the temperature rises, causing the instrument 1 to close the leak port l associated with pipel and to build up the pressure in branch line I. Diaphragm Il will then move downwardly, carrying withit the parts M. ",ll, l1. Il, 4l, to close the leak port and to' cause the accumulation of pressure in duct 4I, and hence Vin chamber 1I of relay 1I.

When the pressure in the bellows of motors il i and Il builds up suiilciently to over-power the springs 21. the lever I1 will be rotated clockwise, carrying damper Il toward closing position.

This movement will rotate lever l2 in a counterclockwise direction to increase the load on spring 52. When theload on this spring increases sufllciently to balance the force exerted by branch pressure on diaphragm il, slight upward movement of the plug Il will occur, permitting escape of air from leak port Il and hence a reduction in pressure in duct I i chamber 1I, `and in the bellows of the motors Il and Il. The damper Il will then be moved toward open `position until a balanced condition is reached.

Whenever the instrument 1 is so affected as to change the pressure in branch line 8, the mechanism will act, in the manner justdescribed, to move the damper I3 to a new position.

It is desirable that the position of valve i3 be directly proportional to the branch pressure created by the thermostat. 'A very slight movement of the plug 44 is sufficient to vary the pressure in the bellows chambers from zero'to fifteen pounds, and the control is very sensitive to a slight change in the position `of levers 2| and 22. The interpositioning of the pilot mechanism makes the control entirely independent of friction in the operating parts as well as of the forces applied to the damper i3 by the medium under control. Consequently, the operation is stable, regular, and takes place in aprompt and precise manner under all normal conditions of operation. i

`Regulating systems of the type to which this invention relates are capable of numerous appliw for a.' valve stem 89 passing through packing 9| to a valve head 92 controlling the ilow of heat exchanging medium through a valve chamber 93. The stem 89 terminates at the top in a plate 84 which abuts against a flexible diaphragm 05 confined between the upper wall of a housing 98 and a closure cap l1. The space between the upper face of the diaphragm and the closure cap 91 is connected through a tting lll and a `pipe line 99, with the duct Il of a pilot valve having the same 'construction as that just described in connection with Fig. 1. Here the reineommunication with the. diaphragm chamber ofthemotonandwiththemainlinel.- 4

The leak port and its associated mechanism areexactlyasdescribedinconnectionwithrig.

l, the lever l2 having its lett hanld end. however,

mconnected to the valve stem Il. as best shown F18; 3. i

-Threadedontothelefthandendoflever l2 as at III is a slotted support ll2 in which is carried aplate il! slottedat I and adapted to be'securedto the valve stem Il by an adjustable studlll. Ihiasturicanbescrewedintoanyone valve being arranged so that it can be attached to standard types of diaphragm casings. as shown, and by a plurality of screws' `lll.

The operation of the system shown in Iiig.` 2

is substantially thatl set forth in detail in cony nection with the system in Fig. 1`. Briefly stated,

variations in pressure in branch line l resulting from changes in an atmospheric condition, cause movement of the plug 44 toward or away from the leak port SI, thus causing pressure variations tooccm'inductllandtobeappliedthroughline f l! to the diaphragm chamber of the `diaphragm motorto regulate the position of valve head l2.

- diaphragm chamber of the motor. Very slight Movement of the valve stem Il in response to either the biasing spring Il, tending to open the valve. or to pressure above the tending to close the valve, moves the lever I2 and thus adjusts the plug- I4 to either build up or dissipate pressure in duct Il, pipe 9|, and the movements of the plug ll with respect to the leak port Il cause .considerable changes in pressure in the diaphragm chamber o1' the motor. Hence it becomes possible to exercise sensitive accurate control of the valve 92 without hunting, at the same timeto maintain the system completely independent of the friction of the valve operating means, or of the forces to which the valve head is subiect.

In the above description,` the invention has been set forth as applied to the control of damper motors and diaphragmmotors of two particular types. It is to be understood, however, that the particular style of motor is not vital, and that the invention can be applied to other motors of pneumatic type and the desired results obtained., Accordingly, no limitations other than those distinctly expressed in the claims are to be implied.

What is claimed is:

1. In a regulating system ofthe pneumatic type, means for controlling the ow of a heat exchange medium; a source of pressure uid; a

l'single-acting pressure motor for operating said controlling means; means for opposing movement of the controlling means by an amount which is proportional to the extent of movement of said controlling means and increases with said movement; means responsive to variations in an atmospheric condition for producing variations in pressure of fluid derived from said source; a lever having a ilxed pivot; pilot valve means responsive to said pressure iluid variations, said pilot valve means including a diaphragm motor connected to said derived pressure source, a leak-port connected to said source, a valve member for conlay 1I of Fig. 1 is omitted, the duct 4I being only 75 trolling said leak port; direct-acting means ind between the said motor and said'valve memberand movable only aloha' a path coaxial with saidleak porti an opposing springreactingbetweensaiddiaphragmandsaid 'vlever; and means i'or `connecting the other end t of said lever to said controlling means to coordinate the operation o! said pressure motor andthe movements of said valve member. Y r

2. In aregulatin system of the pneumatic type, means for' controlling the iiow ot a heat exchange medium; a source oi' pressure nuid; a

t single-acting pressure motor ior operating said controlling means; means for opposing movement of said controlling means by amounts increasing ywith the movement 'oi said controlling means and proportional thereto; means responsive to varia.-

tions in an atmospheric condition for producing variations in pressure of fluid derived from said source; pilot valve means responsive to said pressure fluid variations, said pilot valve means including); `housing carrying a 'lever pivoted thereon, a diaphragm motorV connected to said derived `pressure source, a .leak port connected 'to said source, and a valve member for controlling said v leak port, said member being connected directly to the diaphragm of said diaphragm motor; a guide for the valve member, said guide being carried by said housing in axial alignment with the axis of movement of said valve member; a spring seat movable on said guide and resting on one end of said lever; a spring on said seat and arranged to 1 :,asasee the operation ofthe pressure motor andthe movements oi' said valve member.

, 3.- In a regulating. system of the pneumatic mameans for controlling the now of a heat v exchange medium; asingle-acting Ylzoressure mofor opposing movement ci said controllingl means by a force which increases with the displacement of the controlling means; a source of iluid under a valve member for con olling the leak port, saidmember being connected directly to said dia`- phragm motor, and to said lever means positioned between said diaphragm and leak port for causing rectilinear movement o1' said valve member and its actuating means toward and away from said leak port; a spring seat resting on one end o! said lever; a spring resting on said seat and reacting against said diaphragm in opposition reactl between said lever and the pressure exerted 4 on said diaphragm in a leak port closing direction; and means connecting the other end o1' said lever to said controlling means lor coordinating to the iluid pressure;l an operative connection between the other end of said lever and said controlling means for coordinating the movements of said motor and said member; and a resilient connection interposed directly between said valve member and its operative connection to the diaphragm to limit the pressure applied to the valve member.

CARL A. OTTO.

tor for operating said controlling means, means 

